Luxury goods boss Bernard Arnault falls down world's billionaire list
Bernard Arnault, the founder and chief executive officer of LMVH - the company that owns luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany - dropped to third place on the world billionaire list, according to Bloomberg.
With an estimated net worth of US $155 billion, Arnault fell behind tech billionaire and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who has an estimated net worth of US $156 billion.
South African-born Elon Musk tops the list, with a fortune worth around US $243 billion.
The fashion-focused Frenchman is the only European on the list dominated by Americans in the tech business.
He is also the only billionaire on the list that is centred around the consumer industry.
The luxury brand boss’s fortune shrank by around S$7 billion recently, in what could be owed to shortfalls in its expected sales targets.
Post-lockdown spending habits, slow Chinese sales, and uncertain interest rates have negatively affected LVMH’s stock prices as well, Reuters reported.
In September, the 74-year-old’s company lost its status as Europe's most valuable company.
Other luxury brands like Burberry and South African-owned Richemont, which owns Cartier, also took a knock.
LVMH recorded a 9% increase in revenue in the fashion and leather goods sector for the third quarter.
“After three roaring years and outstanding years, growth is converging towards numbers that are more in line with the historical average," LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony was quoted as saying in Reuters.
American banking house JP Morgan questioned the fashion stock as well.
"LVMH, in our view, remains one of the top quality players in the sector and among the names that should navigate this ongoing volatility relatively better, but with currently negative earnings momentum and an uncertain outlook, we see limited scope for absolute re-rating in the short term," JP Morgan was quoted saying in a note attached to the report.
IOL